LIFE: A Journey Through Time

On Sunday afternoon, friend KS and I went to go see the photo exhibit LIFE: A Journey Through Time on display at the Museum of National History on the University campus. The exhibit, a seven year project of the photographer, Frans Lanting, is absolutely amazing.

I don't know exactly how to adequitely explain it because it is at the cross-roads of science, art, and natural discovery. The press release describes it as "lyrical photos trace Earth's history from the beginnings of primordial life to the ascent of mammals through otherworldly landscapes and breathtakingly intimate portraits of animals and plants." And although the photographs were separated by time period-some just showing depictions of what earth might have been like prior to the ice-age- they were all beautiful and breath-taking.

After walking away from it I realized it was ultimately some of the most captivating nature photography that I have seen in a long time because of its focus on the symbolism as well as the subject. I loved it. I would highly recommend visiting this exhibit- the photographer literally traveled the world- bring back with him the beautiful realities of the world we now live in and how long it has taken life to get here. A day later I can't help but think about some of the images I saw.

Check out the interactive video here: http://www.lifethroughtime.com/experience.html

Saturday: Spring Delivered.

I forget every year how fun it is when spring begins. There is always a day that sticks outs in my mind each year when, according to me, spring officially begins. This year, I am pretty sure it will be Saturday just because it was such a great day.

First of all, I slept in. Lately with a big belly, with a max of two sleeping positions, a huge internal heater, and an internal alarm clock that gets me up 8 times a night, that is no easy task. It felt great!

Then husband and I were out the door for a walk/run. This consists of him running around the lake, me walking up one side of the lake and us meeting in time to walk home together. It was a gorgeous morning out with people by the zillions out enjoying the walking and biking paths. We stopped to talk to several neighbors and friends around the neighborhood.

When we got home husband began to tackle some small house projects. As he was checking things off at a rapid pace, I was moving some of the last extraneous items out of the nursery. Happy as a clam doing some more "organizing".

At 1, my friend and professional organizer, LLC came over so that we could tackle some ways to better use the closet space in the nursery for toys, bedding, clothes, and the many different items of baby gear. I had measured ahead of time and she came with ideas. We discussed, measured some more, moved a few things and then headed out to do some fun shopping at Storables! (Yippee!)

After about an hour of finding most things on our list and generally having a great time looking at all the containers in the store (and comparing, measuring, and reconsidering) we left with a couple of big bags and lots of excitement about the new closet design. Before we could go home though, we needed to stop at Potbelly for some delicious shakes to sip on. Yummy. The best part? We were walking around with no jackets on, eating ice cream.

Upon returning, we set to work on the closet. I wish I had taken before and after pictures as LLC did, because it looked great. We had gotten several different kind of organizers and brought more clarity to how I was going to store items, use the closet, and be able to keep it flexible all at the same time. When we were finished-it looked great!

Next I headed outside to help husband clean my car. He had washed the outside, but the inside was the worst part. So I got to enjoy the weather while getting my car ready for spring: rinsing the salt out of the floor mats and getting all the sand off the floor. As I was doing that KK from down the block stopped over and talked to me while I cleaned. Then we went inside and I got to give her a tour of the nursery. Fun! She admired the closet and the bright green walls I had picked out.

After the car, husband and I cooked dinner together and then packed it up to bring over to our friends who recently had a baby. We ate with them, took turns holding their tiny little boy (who is soooo cute) and hung out and talked to them for the rest of the evening. It was great, I was even given a private demonstration of how the breast pump works when on a live human (which I swear I will return the favor to another girlfriend who is pregnant while I am still nursing. Invaluable.) We had a great evening talking baby and watching some of the basketball tournament.

We drove home through a newly awakened city. The breeze was still warm and it felt great to not rush home in order not to freeze. All the dirty snow banks were long gone and it was so great to know that the next day I would wake up to more sun and just a little bit closer to summer.

Irony

The other day as I was walking to the mailbox nearby, I saw a big truck and happened to notice a sticker in the window that said "YES, this is my truck. NO, I won't help you move." I thought this was funny until I realized that in the bed of the truck were several pieces of furniture... that looked like they were being moved.

Sad.

Buddy, INDEED, you lost.

A much needed adjustment

For much of my life I have been skeptical of chiropractors. Although I never knew exactly what they did, I knew it involved cracking things and that made me nervous...  Someone needing "adjusting" just seemed like it was more mental that physical.

After months of severe groin pain due to pregnancy, a lot of recommendations that I see a chiropractor, and the realization that the baby might not be in the right position for birth (because of how out of wack my muscles/bones are) I finally made an appointment.

On Friday as I was sitting in the Chiropractor's office and she was asking me things like: "Does it hurt when you put on pants?", "Does it hurt to get in an out of bed?", "Does it hurt to walk up stairs?", and "Does it hurt to stand up from a sitting position?" and I answered "yes" to all of them, I realized that I probably should have made an appointment sooner. I have been enduring constant and high levels of pain for way too long with out doing something about it.

So after lots of questions and an examination, the doctor started moving me around. She cracked my back, she used the table to jolt my lower back, and she pushed really hard on my pelvic bones from the front. This took all of about five minutes and upon standing up and walking out of the clinic, my pain was gone. I am not exaggerating, it was completely gone.

I got out of the car at my next stop, the post office, and actually ran across the street! I felt amazing. I felt like maybe I could have continued to jog after six months if I had not had all this pain. Life felt really good again. It is amazing how much energy you can use up dealing with pain that you don't even realize you are thinking about.

So now I am on a strict regimen of icing, heating, and icing along with some more visits to the chiropractor. Her diagnosis was a "pretty twisted pelvis" which is also why the baby has been in the wrong position up until now and why I have had so much muscle pain. I am really hoping to correct both. I will let you know, but for now, still feeling pretty good and ready for some more jolting and pushing to take place on Monday!

Special Edition: Pregnancy Books

Although I am a bit short on friends with experience as mothers, between the library and my few friends who are mothers, I have gotten great suggestions on books to read on motherhood. I have had a blast, learning through the following books. And although I would normally wait until after baby was born to send out these reading suggestions (to REALLY know what I was talking about), I am pretty sure that I won't have as much time or energy to write blog posts after the baby is here. So, here is my top five list of pregnancy/mom books, please note that What to Expect When Expecting is not here- it is not a personal recommendation.

Maybe Baby: 28 Writers Tell the Truth About Skepticism, Infertility, Baby Lust, Childlessness, Ambivalence, and How They Made the Biggest Decision of Their Lives Edited by Lori Leibovich
 * a great read while contemplating kids

The Girlfriends Guide to Pregnancy:Or Everything Your Doctor Won't Tell You by Vicki Iovine *recommended and given to me by my pal AT, funny, down to earth, written by a woman who had four kids right in a row.

Secrets of the Baby Whisperer: How to Calm, Connect, and Communicate with Your Baby by Tracy Hogg  *given to me by neighbor KK, husband really liked this one, very practical.

The Milk Memos: How Real Moms Learned to Mix Business with Babies by Cate Colburn-Smith and   Andrea Serrette
*the book is very illuminating, helpful, and poignant. I loved it, found at the library.
*self-described as IBM professionals, wives, friends, dreamers, and most of all, mothers. Some days they hold it all together, and some days they feel like mice on unicycles, juggling torches. They’re delighted to share what they’ve learned about mixing business with babies, and not losing your mind (or your job) in the process. There is also a blog and chat rooms now because of the book.

Spilled Milk: Breastfeeding Adventures and Advice from Less-than-Perfect Moms by Andy Steiner *borrowed to me by another mom in our child-birth class, a great read on how not to take yourself too seriously while trying to learn what most describe as "challenging".

There are certainly many other books that are good ones, but these were just a couple of my favorites. An honorable mention should go to the book given to us by LLC and SK called The Baby Name Wizard: A Magical Method for Finding the Perfect Name for Your Baby by Laura Wattenberg
*a great book to browse because of the information it gives you about potential names.

Enjoy!

The task of the cup

This might qualify as TMI for some of you, so only if you want, read on...

One of the most awkward things during pregnancy is that almost everytime you go to the clinic for a pre-natal exam, the nurse sends you into the bathroom with a small cup. You job is clearly to produce a urine sample.

However, the terrible irony is that once you start giving regular samples is about the time you can no longer see past your belly. A horrible, horrible coincidence.

Winter in Venice- Family Style

Recently, I read a great article/blog post in the New York Times that made me feel like my traveling life is not over once baby becomes a part of our lives: http://frugaltraveler.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/27/frugal-venice-family-style/#more-125

Not only does the article do a good job of describing traveling in Venice with a baby, but it also does a great job of talking about visiting Venice in the off-season. Inspiring and an interesting read if you like to travel and are contemplating Italy.

The Dry Run

If someone where going to tape one day to catch me being really stupid, they should have picked last Wednesday.

I had a meeting in the neighborhood and as usual I was running a bit behind. There I am walking down 20th Avenue (in high heels I might add), not thinking about anything except what a nice day it was outside and how I needed to get to this meeting. As I approached the corner, I could see a puddle the size of a small pond. And then I spotted a cut through area of the snow bank. I headed right to it. It was clearly well used. With no hesitancy, I took my first step, and then my second on the downsloping side of the snow bank. At that point- faster than I can clearly think through- I did the slipped-on-a-banana-peel-feet-go-flying-out-from-underneath-you-thing. I landed flat on my back and hit my head.

A second later I was scrambling to my feet, brushing off, still intent on making the meeting, although now angry at myself that I had failed to factor in the extra 20 pounds I am still working on balancing. I had a blazing head-ache and was just slightly worried about the baby.

By the time I got to the meeting, I had reassured myself that falling on my back had done nothing to the baby and my head was feeling better. I went directly to the counter of the coffee shop and ordered an Au Lait as a way to wake myself up a bit. Oops, forgot to say decaf...

An hour later, back in my office my boss advises skipping the trip to the gym and instead calling the midwives. Although I thought it was just a precaution, I followed directions. I thought the conversation with the nurse on the nurseline was going really well (she was unconcerned) until I told her I was 32 weeks along. At that point, I was rapidly told that one of my midwives would be calling me soon and to stay put.

The midwife on call did call right back and had one thing to say: come to the hospital. After getting off the phone, I was nearly in tears telling husband I didn't want to waste my time at the hospital, that it was going to ruin our evening plans, and that I was fine. But we packed up regardless.

It was great- it was just as though I was in labor- in through the E.R. up to the Birthing Center, into a maternal assessment room to be hooked up to monitors- one to track my uterus and one to track the baby. A gown 10 sizes too big put on me and into the hospital bed. I was told to hydrate (good thing I had that coffee few hours earlier).

I was thinking this was all a bunch of hooey until the nurse sobered me by telling us that I was indeed having contractions. (I was? I couldn't feel them!) She assured me that it was probably due to the trauma of the fall, but that they needed to "keep an eye on things for a while longer". The point at which the contractions (still almost imperceptible to me) were coming about two minutes apart is when the midwife had the "pre-term labor" discussion with us. What if it didn't stop? What if the baby was born?

For the first time all day I was freaked out. The only good news was that my cervix was "non-threatening"- not dialated, not soft, not ready to have a baby essentially. However, we were saved a seat- a.k.a. bed- in the hospital for the night for "monitoring". Fun!

Hooray, what a wonderful night sleep! The nurses only came in to wake me once an hour, the monitors were only slightly uncomfortable, and the plastic bed only made me sweaty most of the night. Husband was also immensely enjoying his plastic pull-out chair/bed. The only good news is that over night the contractions stopped almost completely and they thought the baby "looked good- good reactivity".

So the next morning we were released, breathing a deep sigh of relief as we considered it a good "dry run" and nothing more. I was thankful as a I headed home for a day of rest that my previous day's stupidity had not had anymore of an effect other than to remind me that pregnancy with all of its aches and pains, inconveniences and rules, is still way better than an emergency birth and a premature baby.

Weekend in Arizona

Who knew that I could like a state with so little water, so much?

If I ever had the tough decision about where to have a second home, it might be in Arizona. We had a great time visiting for a long weekend.

Although we got in to Pheonix a little later than planned, our trip started on a fun note when the car rental company upgraded us (with a little coaxing) to a Prius. Fun to drive!

The next morning we woke up to green grass, beautiful sun, and a balmy 70 degrees. After breakfast at the hotel, we took off going North. We stopped only for a cord so that we could plug our iPods into the auxiliary jack. Off we went with great tunes playing, the car getting over 44 miles to the gallon, and the sun shining.

We stopped on our way up north to see "Montezuma's Castle", which is actually the site of an ancient Native American settlement built into the side of a sandstone cliff. We had a great time walking around under the sycamore trees and near the river.

After a stop in Flagstaff's historic downtown for lunch, we headed north to the Grand Canyon. Through a combination of walking and driving, we saw a good portion of the south rim, leaving just after sunset.  We drove back down to the small town of Oak Creek Canyon (just outside of Sedona) where we stayed at a bed and breakfast type condo development called Los Posados (Hooray for the Suggestion from LLC!) It was a beautiful one bedroom with fire place, huge soaking tub, and a fountain in the courtyard that looked out on the red rock buttes just north of town.  The next morning we enjoyed a three course meal prepared for us by a chef before heading off for the day's adventures.

We drove just a mile then to a hiking area on the edge of town. After examining the map, we set off on what seemed was going to be an easy hike around a couple of buttes. Because of pregnant status, we were much more conservative about what we took on, and still that was hard. In the end, we forgot our sunscreen, we might have missed a turn, and we ran out of water towards the end of the approximately six mile hike. Although I ended up barely being able to get into the car after that because I was so sore, it really was worth it to see the desert up close and to spend part of the day enjoying the natural wonders in about 70 degree weather. It was beautiful! Unfortunately, the sun burn was still to come.

We headed into Sedona for a late lunch, some window shopping, and a look around town. We ate at a bread company that had great bread, an amazing view of the red rocks, and only so-so sandwiches, but it was nice to sit outside and enjoy the shade. That evening we drove up through the Oak Creek Canyon (which reminded us both quite a bit of Oregon) it was beautifully green with lots of water running down from the mountains. The drive was a great look at the whole region between Sedona and Flagstaff.

The only draw back of a leisurely drive around sunset was that we arrived in Phoenix from up north a little late. That night we stayed at a golf resort that husband had booked on priceline and as we arrived and could feel the heat of the day disipating, I felt a little tinge disappointment that we were leaving the next day. I hadn't gotten enough of the beautiful warm weather! It was made worse by the fact that we had gotten a pool-side room and that it was slightly too cold once the sun went down to swim in the pool. But eventually that feeling was overcome by the desire to eat something.

We went out for a nice dinner and came back to the hotel ready for an early bed-time. The next morning I was excited to get up and make the most of our last Arizona day. Jff went out to get bagles for breakfast while I packed us up. Originally, our plan was to stay at the resort for part of the day to swim and enjoy the pool, but Sunday dawned with not as much sun and was a little slow to warm up. So instead of the pool, we headed out to husband's favorite Phoenix attraction: Talieson West one of the former homes of designer and architect, Frank Lloyd Wright. We spent two hours on a fascinating tour of his home with many stories about his life and design theories. Although pretty spendy, one of the best tours of a historical spot I have been on.

In the afternoon (after some fun with the GPS) we spent our last few hours in town at the Phoenix Desert Botanical Garden (which happily is very close to the airport). To our great delight, we found out that there was currently a Chihuly glass display at the Gardens. To make it even better, the blown glass pieces (titled The Nature of Glass) were interspersed with various type of cacti. It was truly beautiful and was really fun to see. It was a great way to spend our last few hours.

The only unfortunate thing about how fun the gardens were was that we got the airport a little late... The end of our trip was all aflutter in returning the rental car, taking the shuttle to the terminal, and in husband almost not getting a seat on our over-booked flight. In the end, we made it home safely and only cried a little bit about the snow that had fallen while we were gone. Nothing like coming home to a Minnesota hug of about fifteen degrees!